Many off-road vehicles have a drive train that provides driving torque to all four wheels of the vehicle. Usually such vehicles have a transfer case which is used to selectively shift the drive train into one of four modes which are: four wheel drive, low speed; neutral; two wheel drive, high speed; and four wheel drive, high speed. The high speed settings are normally used when the vehicle is being used on a highway or a high speed stretch of relatively smooth terrain whereas the low speed setting is used where greater than normal gear reduction is required, such as in mountain climbing. The drive train mode is usually controlled by an actuator lever which extends from the transfer case into the driver's compartment much like the conventional floor shift lever extends from a vehicle's primary transmission. It is unfortunate that in many vehicles, the actuator lever for the transfer case is in a position where it is easily struck by knees and legs especially if the vehicle and its occupants are bouncing around due to rough terrain.
There has been a need for means to retain the transfer case actuator lever in a desired position so that the transfer case remains in the desired mode of power transfer including means that also can lock the transfer case in the neutral position so that theft of the vehicle is more difficult. Generally similar devices for floor shifts and brakes are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 991,014, 1,131,720, 1,170,310, 1,247,512 and 1,406,150, however none show a lock for a transfer case actuator lever which can be as quickly and economically installed, easily constructed and yet is effective to provide the desired results.